By Josh Parker��

If��you’ve��worked with one university,��you’ve��worked with one university.��It’s��a simple line, but a reminder of the lesson��we’ve��learned over the last 25 years��—��durable relationships��matter��— because the opportunities on each campus��emerge��only when you understand the institution behind it. Each institution has its own ecosystem of governance structures, stakeholders, business��lines��and community relationships. For��nearly all��traditional commercial real estate players, that complexity feels intimidating. That unique complexity is exactly what makes the higher-education investment landscape one of the most attractive (and misunderstood) asset classes. And when you get the relationships right, the complexity becomes a source of��stability��—��producing outcomes that are better aligned with institutional needs and more resilient��for long-term investors.��

Higher education is facing a��nearly��$1 trillion��mountain of capital investment needs��—��much of which is driven by decades of deferred maintenance and the rising cost of modernization—��alongside mounting pressure on operating models,��enrollment��and public funding. Institutions now need access to a permanent, reliable base of private capital that can flex with their evolving mission.��A��good��investment��approach starts not with “This is what we��build,��and we can put one here.” but instead, “What outcome are we trying to achieve, and what risk framework will make that outcome durable for the institution and its stakeholders?”��

Relationship-centric in a��Shared-governance��World��

There are no single-voice counterparties in higher education. Shared governance, multiple boards and committees, individual faculty influence, student��needs��and community expectations all factor into major facilities decisions. Unlike a corporate setting where a CEO and board can greenlight a project��relatively quickly, the path to consensus on campus is longer and more iterative. That can be frustrating if you are used to more centralized decision-making.��We’ve found it is actually the pathway to more resilient, long-term solutions.��

Many of our team members have led operations inside universities and understand how these institutions function. We know the language, the constraints, and the tradeoffs that leaders manage every day. That shapes our posture. We work with campus leaders through the uncertainty of market,��regulatory��and political conditions to co-design solutions. That process takes more time, but it produces solutions that are better aligned with institutional needs and more stable for capital providers over the long term.��

Mission��Alignment as an��Investment��Discipline��

For those involved in university construction and campus planning, the question is not only whether capital is available, but whether that capital is structured to advance core educational and community goals. At our firm, “mission alignment” is not a slogan; it is the starting point for underwriting.��

On some campuses, the��objective��is straightforward: deliver the right residential, instructional, research, or student-life environment to support learning and belonging. In other cases, the campus itself is not a focal point. The priority is to catalyze economic development and job creation in the surrounding region. Our work with the University of Notre Dame and partners in South Bend, Ind.,��falls into this category. The goal is to expand the research enterprise and drive broader economic outcomes in the community, not simply to deliver a project, but to create impact in the region. And in places without deep markets, achieving that impact requires aligning the university’s��objectives��with those of the city, state, and philanthropy and then designing a financial structure large enough to be catalytic, yet appropriately de-risked for everyone involved.��

This mission-first approach also means recognizing that some of the most stressed parts of the university business model��—��athletics, healthcare, and other ancillary enterprises��—��need both capital and operational support. Increasingly, our conversations involve the balance sheet and the profit-and-loss statement. We are not just financing real estate; we are helping reengineer business lines, so they no longer��require��ongoing subsidies from core academic operations and, ideally, contribute back to the teaching and research mission.��

From��Debt-only to an “Equity��Layer” in��Higher��Ed��

Historically, investors who wanted exposure to university credit bought taxable or tax-exempt bonds. Equity-like investment opportunities were rare and usually limited to one-off public-private partnerships where universities shouldered most of the risk��to move��projects off balance sheet. As institutions have become more sophisticated, they have recognized that those older models often misallocated risk and constrained what was possible.��

What is��emerging��now is an equity layer in university infrastructure, providing structures that offer investors stable, risk-adjusted returns while staying closely aligned with the institution’s long-term��objectives. Our role is to help design those structures so that investors receive stable, risk-adjusted returns while universities, public-sector partners, and other stakeholders��participate��appropriately in de-risking the venture and upside sharing. When done well, this equity layer becomes the connective tissue between mission alignment, financial resilience, and the scale��required��to achieve meaningful impact.��

In a market like South Bend for example, you cannot achieve real transformation through a series of small, tentative projects. You need��scale.��But scale in a thinner market is, by definition, riskier.��By having the university and public entities��participate��in de-risking the transaction, we can deploy larger amounts of capital at a lower overall risk profile, creating truly catalytic impact matched to the university’s long-term commitment to place.��

This shift from a debt-only mindset to a more nuanced capital stack is one of the most��important changes��ahead��for��“universities-first” investment strategies. As more operating lines from research commercialization to workforce-focused programming seek capital, the institutions that can partner with permanent capital providers will be better positioned to adapt.��

Universities as��Enduring��Civic��Infrastructure��

For communities��seeking��inclusive, sustainable growth, universities bring something few other anchors can: durability. Corporate tenants can be powerful catalysts, but they can also��relocate��when strategy or leadership changes. By contrast, major universities with strong credit and broad teaching and research mandates are deeply tied to place. Today, it is simply too expensive and impractical to pick up a large, diversified campus and move it somewhere else. Their presence is long term by design.��

That long-term presence allows universities to think in decades, not quarters, when it comes to revitalizing surrounding districts. It also allows project sponsors and builders to align investment horizons with a realistic timeline for neighborhood change. You cannot “fix” an urban district with one marquee project. You need repeated investment, programming, and partnership. Universities are uniquely positioned to do��that across academic, clinical, cultural, and economic dimensions, which is why designing with, for, and including them, rather than merely near them, is such a powerful strategy.��

The institutions that will thrive in this environment are those willing to rethink their business models and invite capital partners into the conversation early, not only when a project needs financing. That shift creates room for more thoughtful risk-sharing, stronger alignment between mission and capital, and a clearer path to long-term resilience. The opportunity in front of all of us is to treat universities not as just another sector in a portfolio, but as enduring civic infrastructure – central to talent development, innovation, and community vitality – and to align private capital with that reality over the long haul.��

Josh Parker is the Founder,��Chairman, and CEO of Ancora, where he leads the firm’s strategy and oversees all investment and partnership activity.��

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By Lindsey Coulter��

COLUMBIA, S.C. ––��The University of South Carolina (USC),��has reached a major milestone with the “topping out” of the new School of Medicine at the��university’s��Health Sciences Campus in Columbia’s��BullStreet��District.��This marks the placement of a building’s final structural steel beam.��USC students, staff, and project team members had the opportunity to sign two beams, both of which will be permanently installed and displayed in the building.��

Construction began in February��2025,��and the��$300 million, 330,000-square-foot��facility is set to open in August 2027. The project��represents��a public-private partnership between USC and national��integrated real estate development��construction firm��Gilbane, which is leading��the planning, design,��development��and construction of the project.��Other key project members include BOUDREAUX as lead architect in collaboration with design architect SLAM Collaborative, construction manager partner Cumming, construction manager partner Brownstone Construction��Group��and development consultant Restoration 52.������

Upon completion, the new facility will blur the boundaries between interdisciplinary research and medical education, offering��state-of-the-art��classrooms, research labs, medical simulations spaces,��health-sciences library, and collaborative indoor and outdoor learning and event spaces.��

“We are proud to partner with the University of South Carolina in delivering their new School of Medicine, a significant investment by USC in innovative research and medical education, and the first building on its new Health Sciences Campus”��said��John Keegan,��Senior��Vice��President at Gilbane Development, in a statement. “Though public-private partnerships such as this, Gilbane is helping to transform university campuses across the country, developing and building everything from academic and research spaces to student housing to auxiliary facilities.”��

“For inspiration, the USC School of Medicine Building at the Health Sciences Campus looks back to the legacy of thoughtfully conceived architecture and outdoor spaces on the main campus while simultaneously looking forward to establishing an ecosystem for sustaining state-of-the-art health sciences education and research,”��add��University Architect Derek Gruner.����“Education and interdisciplinary research will be combined under one roof so that each will engage with and contribute to the other through extraordinary classrooms, well-equipped simulation spaces, wet and dry labs, numerous study environments, and dramatic public spaces.”��

The realization of the new����is one of the key goals of USC Next, a 10-year master plan of proposed improvements and capital projects designed to meet the needs of USC Columbia students, faculty, and staff through 2034.����The campus will seamlessly integrate with the broader��BullStreet��District, contributing to its vibrant, mixed-use community.��

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PRINCETON, N.J. — The Princeton University Art Museum announced that it will open a new 146,000-square-foot art museum on Oct. 31, 2025. ��

Located in the heart of the university’s campus, the new three-story space doubles that of the current museum building, encompassing space for exhibitions, education, dining, programming and more.��

“This project represents the coming to fruition of dreams that date back thirty years for a museum building that would be worthy of this beautiful campus and our collections and that will serve as a launchpad for exciting future installations and program,” said James Steward, director of the Princeton Art Museum, in a statement.��

A Look Inside��

Designed by New York-based architecture firms Adjaye Associates and Cooper Robertson, the building will include nine interlocking pavilions, with 80,000 square feet specifically dedicated to gallery spaces that allow museum curators to merge and integrate collections, rather than pursuing the more traditional linear, thematic or chronological methods of display. Offering greater stylistic choice also honors the museum’s cultural exchange effort. ��

The new Museum features large-scale commissions by artists Nick Cave, Diana Al-Hadid, Tuấn Andrew Nguyễn and Jane Irish, and site-specific sculptural acquisitions by artists Jun Kaneko and Rose B. Simpson.��On the “artwalks”, the name for the ground area’s walkways, visitors will encounter works of art, including site-specific sculpture and large-scale paintings. A wood-lined Museum Store sits at its intersection, while inviting outdoor terraces and amphitheaters surround the building.

“We have curated the museum in ways that will welcome visitors not only to experience beauty but also to analyze it; to admire creativity and to contextualize it; to marvel at materials and to complicate their origins,” said Juliana Ochs Dweck, chief curator of the Princeton University Art Museum, in a statement. “Our new museum offers many ways to have intimate encounters with art, to pursue curiosity, engage in meaningful dialogue and to find solace or belonging.”��

Educational spaces will comprise approximately 12,000 square feet of the museum, including two creativity labs focused on hands-on art creation. An auditorium, two seminar rooms and six object study rooms will also be reserved for��teaching and research. The facility’s multi-use Grand Hall will provide space for up to 265 people, making it the ideal destination for events, performances and gatherings. ��

Conservation studios for artwork and sculpture protection will be located on the second and third floors alongside their own studio-devoted classroom spaces. The top level will house a full-service restaurant. ��

Grand Opening��

A 24-hour open house is planned for the museum’s opening day, with public events to cement the facility as a community space.

Two initial exhibitions honoring the generosity of donors will feature donated works by Mark Rothko, Joan Mitchell and Gerhard Richter, with ceramic work on display from Toshiko Takaezu, a Princeton professor and abstract artist. Continuing into spring 2026, photographic collections and abstract expressionist paintings will be on display, with an exhibition of work from American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat planned for fall 2026.��

“The exhibitions we’ve chosen to inaugurate our new building celebrate collecting, legacy, and the future, and speak to our commitment to reimagine how we curate and present art in this new space,” said Steward in a statement. “As a teaching museum, we have a responsibility to not merely present works by monumental artists of our age or of any age, but to go deeper and grapple with how they arrived at the legacies for which we know them today.”��

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PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Construction recently commenced at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s (ERAU) Prescott Campus on the new T-3 Residence Hall and the Strategic Academic Flight Education (S.A.F.E.) Building. The two-part project will further enhance educational offerings and student life at ERAU, which is the one of the world’s largest fully accredited aviation and aerospace universities. ��

The $80 million T-3 Residence Hall component of the project will establish two 80,000-square-foot, four-story student housing complexes on the campus, while the $10 million S.A.F.E Building on the Prescott Airport grounds will be a 20,000-square-foot space supporting the university’s flight training program. The new facilities will tackle both the growing demand for skilled pilots and the crucial need for student housing in the Prescott area.��

“The construction of the T-3 Residence Halls and the S.A.F.E. Building is a pivotal step in Embry-Riddle’s mission to educate the next generation of aviation and aerospace professionals,” said Ken Witcher, Ph.D., chancellor of Embry-Riddle Prescott, in a statement. “These new facilities will enhance the learning experience and provide state-of-the-art resources that are essential for students’ education and training.”��

The Project Takes Flight��

Both project sites are located in the heart of the existing (and fully operational) campus, presenting unique hurdles in design and construction.����

“In the case of the T-3 Residence Halls, the location of the site required a large amount of excavation and relocation of existing earth and utilities,” said Shawn Blubaum, project executive at Tempe, Ariz.-headquartered Sundt Construction, the project’s builder.����

Once completed, the buildings, designed by PQH Group, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., will add 300 beds and 75 suites to the existing campus. Residents will enjoy energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems, modern technology, full kitchens and large windows for ample natural light.��

Built on a hill, the T-3 Residence Halls are conveniently designed to offer various points of entry. To embed the buildings within the landscape, crews installed soaring retaining walls alongside a large braced structural-steel frame after conducting deep excavations and setting large mat foundations. Construction will be completed in staggered phases, according to Larry Kurtz, senior project manager at Sundt.��

Building at an Active Airport ��

Prescott Airport, located three miles from the campus, is also undergoing new construction and will soon serve as the home for ERAU’s S.A.F.E Building, designed by Houseman Architecture. The facility will complement a previous project that established 42 airplane parking spots on the grounds. However, building on grounds of an active airport required constant collaboration and communication between Sundt, airport personnel and ERAU to ensure continuity of operations, explained Blubaum. ��

“The [goal during] the construction process is to not build in a vacuum, but to overcommunicate while tying into existing utilities, both landside and airside, and keep total separation from airside operations while erecting the concrete tilt panel structure adjacent to the new airside parking,” said Kurtz. ��

Inside, the facility is equipped with light operation rooms, debriefing rooms, state-of-the-art flight simulators and hangar space for multiple Cessna aircraft to support ERAU’s aeronautical science, air traffic management and aerospace engineering programs.��

“A student could conceivably receive classroom instructions, log practice flight hours, get debriefed on performance, practice in a simulator and work on flight maintenance in the same all-inclusive facility,” said Blubaum.����

A Continued Partnership��

The projects, which are being built concurrently, are part of an ongoing collaboration between Sundt and ERAU. In 2017, Sundt completed the university’s STEM Education Center and Planetarium, which features multiple research labs supporting exotic propulsion systems, optics, robotics, energy and forensics instruction as well as a cutting-edge dome theater equipped to project clear images of space. The following year, Sundt built and completed ERAU’s T2 Residence Hall within a 14-month timeframe. The three-story, 73,000-square-foot facility is home to 282 students and offers study rooms, game areas, common use kitchens and a fitness room. ��

“Embry-Riddle is a worldwide leader in aviation, and Sundt is extremely proud to have the opportunity to build our third and fourth projects for the University,” said Blubaum. “As a 135-year-old Arizona-based contractor and national leader in aviation construction, it’s a natural fit between ERAU and Sundt. The core values, mission, and vision of Embry-Riddle are perfectly aligned with Sundt’s core values and our mission and purpose.”

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Williams Scotsman, a provider of modular space and storage solutions in North America, was recognized for its relocatable modular project at the Potomac Shores Welcome Center in Dumbries, VA, as well as its work with Saltar’s Point Elementary in Steilacoom, Wash. The Saltar’s Point Elementary project in particular featured development and installation of a permanent, two-classroom modular education facility to accommodate the school’s growing population.

Workers completed the Saltar’s Point Elementary modular addition in fall 2013, adding more than 2,000 square feet of learning space to the school campus. The building comprises eight modular sections, with four on the lower building layout, and four size-matched roof sections. Those roof sections were factory complete with windows, exposed trusses and most mechanical systems. The pre-fabricated building was largely constructed off-site, allowing for a quick on-site installation process. All finishing work was conducted over the summer of 2013, and was completed in time for fall classes.

The facility’s yellow and grey exterior was specifically designed to compliment the existing school aesthetic. It features a front clerestory design with east-facing fixed windows, and a high, sloping shed-style roof. The two classrooms are joined by an angled entry porch, which both compliments and contrasts the angled roof.

The Modular Building Institute is a non-profit trade association that represents the manufacturers, dealers, and suppliers of commercial factory-built structures. MBI member companies manufacture, install, and service virtually every type of building application, for both temporary and permanent use.

An impartial panel of experts served as judges for the commercial building awards, and based their reviews on architectural excellence, technical innovation, cost effectiveness/energy efficiency, and calendar days to complete. To be considered, projects had to be intended as commercial structures, and all had to be of mobile or modular construction.

“The MBI awards provide an opportunity to showcase some of our recent innovations in modular space solutions from the past year,” said Brad Soultz, president of Williams Scotsman. “We enjoy a long history of serving the education sector, and we’ve proven again this year that we are a leader in that category. Williams Scotsman is proud to deliver permanent modular and temporary classroom solutions to accommodate any project need.”

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